Nome couple catches burglar in the act

A homeowner and his wife woke up to a surprise visitor Saturday night, March 2, when they found a transient inside their Nome home.

According to a press release, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call in the 2400 block of Highway 90 in Nome about 4:20 a.m. to find a husband and wife were fighting with a man they said was trying to burglarize their house.

“The (homeowner) walked out into the living room and the (suspect) was coming through the window and was closing the window behind him,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Rod Carroll.

The Sheriff’s Office later identified Joseph Perry, 26 — a man they labeled as a “transient” from Kilgore, Texas — as the man who broke into the rural home.

Carroll said the suspect was unarmed as he entered the home and a brawl broke out between the suspect and the home’s two occupants.

“The homeowner and his wife subdued (the suspect),” until police arrived, Carroll said, adding the Sheriff’s Office has been dealing with a rash of break-ins lately, with no verifiable reason why.

Perry was booked in the Jefferson County Correctional Facility on the charge of Burglary of a Habitation, and his bond was set at $10,000.

In the event a homeowner is burglarized, Carroll said police give priority to the third-degree felony of burglary-in-progress and should respond quickly, but homeowners can use all means necessary to protect their life and/or property.

“You have the right to defend your house with up-to-and-including deadly force,” he said. “If you feel threatened, you have that right.”